The status of women faculty in colleges and universities is considered. While there has been increased hiring of women on college faculties, women faculty members still lag behind men in rank and salary, even when differences in fields, institutions, and postdoctoral experience are considered. Women presently constitute about 24 percent of the full-time instructional faculty in higher education. Most of the growth in the proportion of women faculty can be attributed to the hiring of individuals under the age of 30 to fill untenured positions. Only 46 percent of women faculty have tenure, compared to 72 percent of men faculty. Women faculty, on the average, receive 17.5 percent less in salary. One of the reasons given for the low percentage of women gaining tenure and the declining number of women full professors is the relatively low number of women who received doctorates before 1970. Once appointed to tenure-track positions, women faculty climb the academic ladder more slowly than men. Since teaching, research, and institutional service are all important factors in the evaluation of faculty for promotion and salary increases, it is necessary to determine if male and female faculty differ in the amount of time they spend doing those things. There is, for instance, a considerable difference between the teaching loads of full-time male and female faculty: women more often are involved in teaching. The evidence about the publication rates of male versus female faculty seems conflicting; however, even when the publication rates of academic women and men are identical, men are promoted more rapidly. The individual's professional visibility and service to the institution as factors often considered for advancement also are addressed. (SW)